Dr Chandra Muzaffar
KUCHING: Malaysia has succeeded as a federation and state leaders of Sarawak and Sabah are fully aware of it, says Yayasan 1Malaysia Board of Trustees chairman Dr Chandra Muzaffar.
He said former Sarawak chief minister, the late Tan Sri Adenan Satem during his tenure had been pushing for Sarawak’s rights and interests to be returned but had always maintained that Sarawak would remain in the federation.
This, he said showed that Adenan was very much aware that the federation had succeeded.
“Don’t think that it is easy to break away and have your own state. We have to make this federation succeed,” he said in a public talk entited “Good governance in a multi-ethnic federation” hosted by Institute of Management of Sarawak (MASA) and moderated by its chairman Tan Sri Hamid Bugo here today.
Chandra, who is also Universiti Sains Malaysia’s former professor of Global Studies, said for some influential strata of society in Sarawak and Sabah, development was inextricably linked with the question of autonomy.
He said the federal government should give serious attention to the concerns expressed by an increasing number of groups and individuals in Sarawak and Sabah about the rights of their two states in the federation of Malaysian.
Chandra pointed out that the right for Sarawak and Sabah to control their own resources, especially oil, collect their own revenue, manage their own finances and decide on their own tariffs, would only be possible if the autonomy of the two states was honoured and respected by the federal government.
He said ensuring a much bigger and more effective role for Sarawakians and Sabahans in their own public services would also be an essential prerequisite for strengthening autonomy.
Chandra said good governance was crucial for the well-being of any society, adding that in a multi-ethnic society a good governance contributed immensely towards social cohesion and harmony. – Bernama